By Carley Crain
@carley_crain12
The women’s track team traveled to Coast Guard Academy Saturday afternoon to compete in the 2021 outdoor track and field NEWMAC Championship for the first time in 2 years. The Pride 4th finished overall, with a total of 103 points. The men competed on Sunday afternoon and finished 2nd overall, tallying up 171.50 points.
“Getting through the season and to NEWMAC day was a true dream, said junior Aly Coyle. “The ladies all showed great efforts on Saturday. It was full of season and personal bests, smiles, and laughs.”
The competition started out with the 10,000-meter race for the women, where senior Rachel Wentnick finished third overall with a time of 40:48. The Pride then added another 2 points with its 5th place finish in the 4×100 meter relay.
Up next was the 3,000-meter steeplechase where first-year Kate Bonanno ran a season-best and came away with a time of 12:24.
The Pride had a strong showing in the long jump, as sophomore Matyln Gross, senior Emily LaPlante, and sophomore Madelyn Vianney all placed in the top 6, contributing 15 points to the overall team score.
The Pride also swept the high jump, as Chloe Dewhurst won the title in her season opener, senior Chloe Hitchcock jumped 1.65 to finish second, as well as junior Hannah Hu jumping to a third-place finish with her 1.60-meter jump.
Gross continued to impress in the triple jump, where she finished second overall.
In the throwing events, sophomore Christa Carr placed second in the shot put and fifth overall in the hammer throw
In the 1500 meter race, first-year Sophie Curcio ran to a 6th place finish and added 1 point to the Pride’s overall score. LaPlante additionally contributed four more points from her 100-meter hurdle race, where she ran 15.45 seconds.
Sophomore Emma Raccaro sprinted to a top-three finish in the 400-meter dash where she helped tally 6 more points for the Pride. Junior Sydney Fackrell came away with a fourth-place finish in the 100-meter dash and as well as running a top 5 time in the 200-meter dash.
Up next was the 5,000 meter, where juniors Heather Fontaine, Aly Coyle, Marissa Paolangeli, and sophomore Elizabeth Rose all came away with season bests or personal records. Fontaine and Rose contributed 3 points to the overall team score.
“The day was a long time coming. We have been working hard for 14 months with no competition,” said Coyle. “Getting to compete the past month has been so surreal.”
The last event of the day was the 4×400 meter relay where the Pride finished third in a time of 4 minutes and 13 seconds.
The men competed the next day and saw many student-athletes become NEWMAC champions.
The day started with the 10k, where sophomore John Derosa placed 5th overall with his time of 34:15. The D-squad additionally added points from sophomores Aidan Harmer in the 1500 meter, Rece Gobel in the 800 meter, and first-year Chris Vayda in the 5k.
The sprinters had themselves a day, despite losing a few key athletes due to COVID-19. The Pride took a clean sweep in the 100-meter dash, as first-years Anik Dole and Seth Regan took 1st and 2nd, as well as senior Benjamin Batoosingh placing third overall.
In the 110 meter hurdles, senior Damian Mackay-Morgan and sophomore David Cataloni placed third and sixth overall, contributing 7 points to the team score. Additionally, sophomore Luke Chastain was the runner-up in the 400, where he ran a new college best of 49.74 seconds.
Sprinters continued to impress in the 200-meter dash, as Regan took the win, followed by teammates Batoosingh placing second and Morgan finishing in fifth.
The “Flight Crew” as they call themselves had a great showing in the long jump, triple jump, high jump, and javelin. The Pride had three athletes finish in the top 6 for the long jump- including sophomore Colby Wilson becoming the NEWMAC champion. In the triple jump, senior Joshua Silvester was crowned the NEWMAC champion, as well as teammates Jacob Peterson, Wilson, and Cataloni placing second, fourth, and fifth overall.
In the javelin throw, first-year Daniel Criscio continued his undefeated season by becoming the NEWMAC champion. Sophomore Jamie Cocca also had himself a day, as he took the win in the discus and shot put as well as finishing third overall in the hammer throw.
The last event of the day was the 4×400 meter relay, as the Pride took first overall running a quick time of 3:23.
With their first NEWMAC championship in over 2 years, the Pride did not disappoint, despite a few athletes being sidelined due to injury or COVID-19, and are excited for what the future holds.
Photo: Jack Margaros